R.I.P. True Blood

I stuck with True Blood for seven seasons. Seven seasons and I feel as if none of the episodes were quite as awful as that finale. From the direction, to the acting, to writing... Everything felt half assed. I will admit, I had fun with True Blood. But this series was definitely not perfect by any means.

Also for a vampire series, it was at least a better representative of the White Wolf series in comparison to say, Kindred: The Embraced.


PS: What was up with Tara's over dubbed kid voice?!

My encounter with the Smallest Woman in the World

Years ago I met American Horror Story: Freak Shows newest cast member Jyoti Amge, the worlds smallest woman. And It was pretty awkward.

I paid the man out front $1 to go in with me and my date. I completely thought there would be a show on inside and a few others behind the current. What we saw was Jyoti sitting Indian style on a small stool, typing away at her phone and checking social media. She looked up at us. We looked down at her....paused for two seconds....and then walked right back out.

I wasn't sure if I felt...

A) Dirty as human being
B) Cheated out of ah buck.
C) Bummed because cell phones have (once again) officially ruined all things fun in my life. Including freakshows!

The Struggles of Robin Williams (1951-2014)

I have not said much about the passing of Robin Williams. There is just so much grief going on all over the net. And you know what? That is actually great to see! I love knowing that Robin has touched so many lives through his acting career. Someone mentioned that they have not seen this many touched by a persons loss since even before Michael Jackson's death.

Through the lens, we could tell Robin was definitely a sweet and caring man. Full of laughter and joy. His specials Live at the Roxy, An Evening with Robin Williams and Self Destruction made me burst with laughter! I can't say they got me through hard times, but I'm sure they did in some way or another. As a child growing up in the 80's and 90's, I adored his classics. He was the voice of laughter to me and my parents and I will always cherish that.

But what about the darker side? Robin made folks laugh for years and years and wanted to push himself even further. In 2002 we saw a whole new side of Williams with one single film. One Hour Photo.

The film was based around the man at the local photo hut. How he sees everything about your life through photos. We never knew who that man was or what they did on their down time. But we just handed over our lives in a tiny canister. The film also showed how loneliness can really get to a person. How it slowly eats away at people on the inside looking out.

Going through social media I've noticed not one person has mentioned this film in Robin's larger than life legacy. I really feel we got to see a brief glimpse at the man inside. Now, I'm not saying Robin was a horrific creep like his roll in the picture. Far from it! But there is always that underlining to a person. Something that one grasps to and really takes with him or her. This was that roll for Mr. Williams.
I think he really enjoyed playing something different, something dark while keeping face to the common crowd. He pushed himself at the same time he let go and pulled off something brilliant that is rarely ever seen in cinema.

I am constantly asked "Why do you like horror movies? You are such a nice guy! How can you like scary things?" The answer is quite simple. I read somewhere that inside all of us there are monsters that we need to tame, or that we fight. Under the facade, we all have our own demons to battle. Monsters and mad men remind us that there is real evil in this world. There's darkness inside all of us. It's good to be reminded of that from time to time. And the darkness, monsters and demons can all be conquered -- just like in the horror pictures.

I really feel Robin gave himself to that theory and opened up to it in this picture and gave one hell of a performance! Sadly for Mr. Williams, in the end, he could not conquer his demons. I feel we will never truly know what was going through his mind on August 11th 2014. But we all need to be aware that loneliness and depression lies within us all. Even the really funny and nice ones.The ones that make you laugh hysterically at lunch or at the bar. The ones who stay positive through it all. Facades can be strong, but the human emotion inside is much, much stronger.

Someone said today that they now think Robin was a coward for leaving us the way he did, and that his legacy means nothing to them anymore. That is truly heart breaking and depressing to hear.

I don't want to leave this post on a down note. So I'm going to leave you with my favorite memory of Robin Williams. One that I think will stick with me till my death bed, and hopefully yours. This video shows how truly loving and caring Robin was. Just because he needed to fight his own demons off inside does not mean he wasn't a truly generous and caring person all around. We'll all deeply miss you Robbie.

Oculus (2013)

Oculus was simply an "okay" picture. I'll give Mike Flanagan credit for not relying on too many jump scares. Though, I am happy to say the overall looming presence of evil is what makes this 2013 haunted thriller feel truly terrifying. Oculus's problem was that it didn't expand more on it's own mythology and leaves you in the dark bummed and confused.

*Minor spoilers*
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Don't get me wrong, I love a good "downer ending" (The Mist,) but this one almost feels forced with no real pay off. I felt cheated towards the end, left with this message. "The mirror is evil, has been evil, and will continue to be evil in hopefully more sequels."

Maybe the short feels a tad more grounded?

 

Every Day is Halloween: Episode 2 with Kenny Caperton

It's August and Halloween is quickly on our heels. But Comic-Con International is now! Legendary Pictures announces more monsters, Ash is back to fight more deadites, Scream Factory has a slew of new releases; the list just goes on and on.

My guest this month is Kenny Caperton. Kenny owns a replica home based off Michael Myers humble abode from John Carpenter's classic Halloween. I catch up with Kenny and ask him what it's like to live in the iconic horror home as well as see how his new film Honey Spider is doing.

I also take a look at Scream Facory's re-release of Motel Hell and make sure to listen carefully to see how you can win a creepy item signed by William Shatner himself!

Monsters of the Gridiron

I really enjoy collecting things from my childhood that I feel were really crucial to the development of who I am today.

As a child growing up in Orlando in the early 90's was a fun and fascinating time. Especially for the kids who were into MONSTERS! Universal Orlando started up their annual Halloween event; Halloween Horror Nights (Fright Nights circa 1991.) My parents dragged me to the very first event when I was six and I was terrified! But I fell in love all at the same time. I remember coming back home and playing "Fright Nights" with the neighbor kids next door.

Around this time Universal was teaming up with other other brands to promote their event. One of them happened to be Coke, and Coca-Cola was the head sponsor of the NFL at that time. In October of 1993 they released a series of football cards called 'Monsters of the Gridiron.' This was a series of football cards that showed off players more "monstrous" sides. Players decked out like The Wolfman, a giant serpent, a specter, etc.

They were pretty cheesy, but if you know me, they were right up my ally! I remember only owning about 7 or 8 cards and a few were doubles but I remember Halloween of '93 as if it was yesterday. Trading monster cards next door with my friends and watching ads for Fright Nights. Also FOX just started up their station and were hamming it up for Halloween with a ton of this commercials. So the ads ran almost every night.

Well a friend of mine brought Monsters of the Gridiron up the other day and nostalgia hit me like a linebacker with bolts in his neck! I had to see if the cards were on Ebay.
I'm proud to say I just won the whole set for a whopping four dollars!

This was all a great trip down memory lane and I am happy to share some of the (outrageously cheesy) marketing campaign ads they ran for Monsters of the Gridiron right here. Enjoy!

                              

Now Watching:

This film could never EVER be remade today. A fraternity fakes a school shooting in the court yard to cheat on their final exams. Yowza!